‘Age is almost immaterial’

STILL GOING STONG: From left, Kate Cantrell, associate director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, founding director Gary S. Sasse and Robert Jones, director of the office of planning and institutional research, meet at Bryant University last month. Sasse, 74, has a full-time schedule. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
STILL GOING STONG: From left, Kate Cantrell, associate director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, founding director Gary S. Sasse and Robert Jones, director of the office of planning and institutional research, meet at Bryant University last month. Sasse, 74, has a full-time schedule. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

At 74, the founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University has a full-time schedule, only part of which is actually spent working at the institute.

He was also active until recently in former presidential candidate Marco Rubio’s campaign as chairman of Team Rubio RI. Sasse also travels extensively to consult privately with out-of-state officials, and writes opinion pieces for newspapers and blogs.

“Age is almost immaterial,” Sasse explained. “It’s your health, interest, experience, drive and motivation. There are people that are 50 that don’t have the drive of somebody who is 70, but it depends on the individual. Ask Bernie Sanders. He’s 74 and wants to be president of the United States. We’re healthy and living longer. [So], as long as people feel you’re continuing to make a contribution, I don’t think age is factor.”

Compared with his work earlier in his career as a government official in Tennessee, as executive director of the R.I. Public Expenditure Council for 30 years, and until 2009, as director the R.I. Departments of Administration and Revenue, he likes the flexibility he has today. He retired from Rhode Island government at 67, he said.

- Advertisement -

“The work I’ve done in the past involves public policy and politics,” he noted. “You don’t turn off your interest [in that] at a certain age. You try to find outlets and activity that mean something to you [and] have some value. The difference is, [work now] is not an 8-5 job, so you can work other things in.”

His view of retirement hasn’t changed, he said, since he has always believed in finding a balance and reserving time for family. Living in East Greenwich with his wife, Glenda, he makes a point of staying involved with four children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, he said.

In fact, remaining active past retirement age is “a positive,” he said, because experience adds so much to performance.

He does what he does now “because I find [the roles] interesting and I could not do some of these things in midcareer, when I was worried about supporting a family. Money isn’t a driving motivation anymore. One of the great things about being financially independent is you can evaluate and re-evaluate that. As long as the things that come up are of interest, I’ll continue.” •

No posts to display